UFC News - Page 508

In the light heavyweight main event, former two-division world champion Dan Henderson will collide with former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin in three-round war which will set the tone for the 205lbs division in 2009. Then, 2005 PRIDE® Grand Prix Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua returns to the Octagon™ to throw down with UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in a rematch MMA fans thought they would never see. The pair last met in Japan in 2006, with the legendary Coleman pulling off a stunning upset by breaking Rua’s arm in the first round.

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Blood streaming from his eye down across his face, his tooth already projected into the stunned audience, sumo wrestler Teila Tuli became the crimson canvas to which the brutality of the Ultimate Fighting Championship was first conveyed. On the devastating end of a vicious kick to the face via Gerard Gordeau, Tuli's misfortune concluded the first bout in the roller coaster that has been the UFC. Through all the ups and downs of brutal controversy, financial woes, epic showdowns and the maturation of the world's fastest growing sport, there has been one constant as it relates to the UFC - great fights.

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I know alot of Leben/Bisping have been posted lately, but yet another inside look at the new Leben has come up - with video. He looks to be in great shape physically and mentally. You can tell he has changed his attitude drastically

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As soon as he had a few wins and all the money got involved and his new contract and his ex-manager and all that bullshit, he’s changed. He’s not the same fighter he was. He needs to put all that shit behind him and he’s needs to come back and be the cocky, crazy Brandon Vera that I met a few years ago. That kid needs to come back. It seems that now the money’s involved, he doesn’t take chances like he used to, he doesn’t let his hands go like he used to. He’s got to come back and be the old Brandon Vera.” UFC President Dana White hopes to see the old Brandon Vera return against Keith Jardine at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, this weekend. “The Truth” was undefeated before getting mired in an ugly contract dispute with the promotion and former manager Mark Dion, which kept him on the sidelines for more than a year. He returned to action only to lose to Tim Sylvia via unanimous decision and then Fabricio Werdum via controversial first round technical knockout stoppage. After the two losses at heavyweight, Vera took a 205-pound fight against Reese Andy at UFC Fight Night 14 back in July. He won the bout with a decision but didn’t look very sharp while doing it, attributing the lackluster performance to the weight cut. Broken Hand, bad stoppage and weight cut: All reasons (and not saying they aren’t valid) Vera has used to explain his three most recent performances … none of which include money. Let’s see which Brandon Vera shows up on October 18 and whether or not White may be onto something or Vera has indeed been the victim of misfortune.

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Most fighters will tell you that a win’s a win. That one could be indistinguishable from another in the grand scheme of things. That is, however, not always the case. There are certain instances where a win is more than just another notch in someone’s record column. For instance, a first win is always special, as would be winning a title, and following title defenses; but from some perspectives, there’s nothing quite like coming out of nowhere to topple a giant. Such is the case for David Baron, a veteran French fighter who built a solid career for himself, but fell short against top caliber opposition, until he knocked off perennial top ranked lightweight/welterweight superstar Hayoto “Mach” Sakurai in May. “Sakurai is an excellent fighter, so to beat him it means that I can compete at that level,” said Baron of his career setting victory over the Japanese hero. “(It) reassures me for my upcoming fight and my future.”

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Chris Leben sat in a Clackamas County jail in northwestern Oregon for three weeks and pondered his past, present and future. Arrested on a probation violation related to a previous DUI conviction, Leben forfeited his chance to fight Michael Bisping at UFC 85 in June. As bad career moves go, few could have been worse. “Obviously, things came up,” Leben says. “It was a huge letdown.” Fortunately for the 28-year-old middleweight, UFC officials were in a forgiving mood. Given a reprieve by matchmakers, Leben (18-4) will challenge the once-beaten Bisping in the featured bout at UFC 89 this Saturday at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

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With Michael Bisping less than three days away from a middleweight clash with Chris Leben at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England, the UK standout made no qualms about what he thinks of his recently rejuvenated opponent. “He still looks like the same Chris Leben,” Bisping told Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” on Wednesday. “There might be a little bit of a difference but I think ultimately he’s still the same fighter.”

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Check out what Vinicius Magalhaes had to say about last night's episode and all the pranks going on in the house:

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“There’s nothing worse than sitting in a locker room after a fight knowing that you didn’t get a chance to fight,” said Jardine, reflecting on his one round loss to ‘The Axe Murderer’ at UFC 84. “I wanted to run it back out there and fight again as soon as possible, but things happen.”

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Yoshida's manager, Shu Hirata, confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that his fighter will still compete on the Dec. 10 UFC Fight for the Troops card, possibly still against Koscheck. There has also been speculation that Diego Sanchez may take up the spot against Yoshida in the main event for the UFC Fight for the Troops show.

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Although he's been without an opponent since original December foe Brian Stann withdrew from their next fight due to injury, WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Steve Cantwell may now have an opponent for UFC Fights For The Troops. Razak Al-Hussan has accepted the fight, now it's up to Cantwell.

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Paul Kelly recently told the WInnipeg Sun about a childhood motorcycle accident that nearly killed him and cost him a leg, but left him with quite the scar and a bit of an advantage in MMA-he now has no feeling in his thigh area as a result of the carnage, so he doesn’t have to check kicks.

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Listen in as Bloodyknux.Com's Tyler Horton talks with UFC LW Standout Tyson Griffin. Tyson talks preparations for his bout against Sean Sherk at UFC 90 , career retrospective, a future art career? and much more....

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In a video interview with Sherdog Anderson Silva goes on to discuss Dan Henderson's matchup with Palhares, his upcoming fight with Cote, and confirms that he will retire after he finishes the remaining six fights left on his contract. He goes on to speculate that his contract would probably run out by June 2009. He expresses interest in traning the next generation of fighters after retirement.

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Saturday could be a crowning moment for Paul Kelly as he faces off against Marcus Davis at UFC 89. The undefeated Kelly takes his first big step up on the Birmingham card. In a way, he's fortunate to be stepping at all. A childhood accident nearly left him unable to walk according to The Telegraph: Kelly was messing about on a motorbike with his mates along a railway line in West Derby, Liverpool. It was getting dark. "I thought I knew it all," explains Kelly, built with the frame of a rugby union hooker. "We were out all day and all night on the bike on the railway sidings. Of course, we shouldn't have been there. As it was getting dark, I hit a stack of wet leaves at 40 miles an hour and went into a huge concrete block on the sidings. My leg just exploded. It was a mass of blood, bone and muscle." The injury was so severe Kelly got 800 stitches and 13 skin grafts. At 12 years old, he was told he'd never walk again. He's worked his all the way back to be one of Great Britian top MMA prospects.

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Since dropping to middleweight, Michael “The Count” Bisping (16-1) has been on a mission to establish himself as a top 185-pound contender. And he’s off to a brilliant start — The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 3 winner has looked impressive in first-round stoppages over Jason “Dooms” Day (17-7) at UFC 85 and Charles “Chainsaw” McCarthy (10-5) — (who Bisping sent into retirement) at UFC 83. But his biggest test (at 185, anyway) is certainly the one he faces this Saturday night, October 18, at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. That’s where he’ll face off against Chris “The Crippler” Leben (18-4) in the main event at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben.” We caught up with Bisping today to see how he plans to handle “The Crippler’s” punching power (he doesn’t seem too worried about it), find out about his evolving ground game (he’s been training in Japanese jiu-jitsu since he was eight years old) and to get his take on the possibility of serving as a coach on the upcoming TUF 9: “U.S. vs. U.K.”

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A light heavyweight fight between Andre Gusmao (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Antonio Mendes (15-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has been added to UFC 93, an event that takes place Jan. 17 at The 02 in Dublin, Ireland. The match-up was first reported in the Oct. 13 edition of Wrestling Observer. The 205-pound match-up complements the night's main event between light heavyweights Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin, as well as a co-main event of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman.

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Maurício "Shogun" Rua is practicing his elbow strikes in preparation for a bitter war with long-time adversary Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman, his coach has revealed. The two will face off at UFC 93 in January in a rematch of their 2006 PRIDE FC meeting that left Rua with a broken arm and the two men as sworn rivals. Mauricio Veio is training Shogun for the January fight and says his athlete “knows Coleman will go at him”. PRIDE did not allow the use of elbows, but Rua is adapting quickly to the UFC ruleset and is already making them part of his game. “He is training hard and will take The Hammer down and hit him with his elbows,” Veio revealed. “Shogun is ready for the worst situations in the fight." Veio was a coach with Chute Boxe before leaving to join Shogun and Ninja at their new gym, Universidade da Luta (University of Fighting) earlier this year. He is the brother of Andre ‘Dida’ Amade, who also left Chute Boxe to join Universidade da Luta.

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